'Did I make a mistake walking in here?' Isabella thought to herself as she was passing through the most dangerous alley in the city.
Isabella's loud footsteps echoed in the air in the dark, empty alley. Everything is ominously dark and quiet. The only sound that fills the surroundings is the steady, hurried footsteps.
The air in the alley smells of danger and death. Dark clouds were roaming above Isabella's head, like death roaming in someone's head.
'How did I even end up here?'
She looked around the alley to find any danger while swallowing hard. Isabella's heart was pounding irregularly with fear, but she still moved forward.
She had no time to duel in her fear. She couldn't afford to let the fear take over her because she had to reach her home as soon as possible. She had to hurry home. She needed to get out of here.
But no matter how hurried she was, she shouldn't have entered this alley where even souls were scared to enter. She shouldn't have, but she still did. And right after entering the alley, she regretted her decision.
Isabella was safe a little while ago. A little while ago, she was nowhere near this dangerous place. Not even in her scariest dream did she think that she would be in this situation.
She was in the library studying for her final exam. She was so caught up in her studies that she didn't even notice how the time passed or how, one by one, all the students left the library.
When it was midnight, the librarian came to her and told her that it was time to close the library. Isabella's eyes widened in shock when she glanced around to find herself alone in the library.
Her breath hitched when she looked at the time. It was past midnight. And she was not supposed to be outside this late, knowing very well that she had to cross the most dangerous zone to reach her apartment.
She quickly collected her belongings and walked out of the library. Her apartment was a thirty-minute walk from the library. She didn't bring her car because she liked to walk, and staying this late was never her plan.
Isabella, with a sigh, started her journey to her apartment as quickly as possible. After a few minutes, she stepped inside the dark and utterly quiet street, and her heartbeat rose with every tentative step she took.
She shouldn't have stayed out so long. She had never stayed out this late.
There was not a soul in sight—just the creepy silence and cold, harrowing wind that picked up stray leaves from the ground. An unknown fear gripped her with every step she took towards her apartment. Her head whipped left and right at any tiny sound that reached her sensitive ears.
Isabella had heard the rumors about this area. It was the worst area in the city. Right after nightfall, this area becomes hell. Here, drunks and druggies lurk. But she heard there was another zone along with it that was more dangerous. Even murder and rape happened. She didn't know which one it was, but she had always heard cruel rumors about it.
As she was walking hurriedly, she saw a few men taking drugs a mile away from her. She stopped dead in her tracks, and her heart stopped. She couldn't walk past them. The rumors of rape and murder ran through her mind. What if they raped her?
Isabella's heart raced quickly in fear, and her mind was racing, trying to find a way out of this situation. She had to find a way as soon as possible. As she was looking around with a trembling heart, her eyes fell on an alley that was dangerously quiet.
Isabella knew about this alley. This one was a shortcut and directly led to her apartment. But she had never taken this alley. Because she heard that this alley was even more dangerous than the other one.
Isabella contemplated between the option of walking into this alley or walking in front of those druggies. She glanced at the alley, which was very quiet, and glanced back at the big druggies.
Between those two options, taking the quiet alley looked more alluring to Isabella. She could see what would happen to her if she tried to walk past them. And she didn't want to be another victim of rape.
In the end, she decided to walk through the dark alley. Those drug men were about to look in Isabella's way, but before they could, she swiftly entered the dark, quiet alley.
And now, as Isabella was walking through the dark alley, she was regretting her decision. At this point, even her footsteps were haunting her. But she was still glad that she didn't choose to walk past those druggies. Walking through a quiet alley was better than that.
Isabella quickened her pace as she knew that she was near the end of the alley and out of the dangerous zone. Leaves rustle as the wind blows. The cold wind touched Isabella's body, making her shiver. Isabella wrapped her around her and rubbed her shoulder for some warmth.
A tiny sigh of relief left her lips when a little light came into her view. It was the end of this alley. She was near. She would be at home soon. She would be out of this dangerous alley soon. She would be safe again soon.
The light from the end of the alley made the path a little more visible to her eyes. While keeping her gaze focused on the end of the alley, she took a few hurried steps forward. Isabella stopped dead in her place, and her breath stopped when her eyes fell on a specific thing.
She blinked multiple times to make sure she was not imagining it. And a gasp escaped her lips when she was sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.
A few steps away from her, a huge muscular body was lying while leaning on the wall. Her mind went blank, and her body froze. Her soul wanted to leave her body.
"Is—is it a dead body?" Isabella murmured.
Isabella's mind was trying to comprehend what she had just seen and what she was supposed to do. She had not even, in her dream, thought that she would come across a dead body like this. What was she supposed to do?
Should she call the police and check on the man, because what if the man was alive? Or should she ignore it, run to her home, and forget that she ever saw the body? But she knew pretty well that she could never forget it.
Her mind was screaming to go with the latter one, but her heart was saying the opposite. The good citizen in her completely refused to ignore the man and urged her to go to him. And despite her mind's warning, Isabella took slow steps toward the man.
As she got closer to the man, he fully came into her view. His head was down, making it impossible to see his face. Isabella stopped in front of the man and crouched down. She released a shaky breath as she saw the man's chest rise and fall. It was not a dead body. The man was alive.
But was the man really alive? She still had fears. Fear that her eyes were playing games on her. She wanted to be a hundred percent sure that he was alive. So, to make sure he was alive, Isabella decided to check his pulse.
She swallowed hard and slowly reached for the man's hand. But before she could reach his hand, his hand suddenly grabbed her hand in a tight grip, and he instantly opened his eyes, making Isabella gasp in fear.
Her breath hitched as her eyes widened and her head snapped toward him. And the moment her eyes landed on his face, time froze, and her heart stopped as she met a pair of dangerous golden eyes.